Power Forwards
Zach Randolph: This is the first time Big “Z-BO” has made one of my top ten lists. Congrats to the Big Homie, he deserves it, after seeing him Gangsta Walk on Blake Griffin in the playoffs last year; I had to put him in this slot. Not only did Randolph out score Blake head to head 17.0 to 15.8, he also out rebounded him 9.0 to 6.0, en route to leading his Memphis Grizzlies to the Western Conference Finals.
LaMarcus Aldrige: The second Power Forward slot has traditionally been the most difficult decision when deciding on who stays and who doesn’t stay on my roster. I was this close to putting David West here, the power forward for the Indiana Pacers; his play at this position has been consistently good, but his performance throughout the playoffs last season had me thinking he should definitely be here. But then I started to look at LaMarcus Aldrige, who hasn’t had the benefit of playing with a good center like Roy Hibbert, and then I look at his stats for his career (18.4 PPG & 7.4 RPG) in comparison to David West stats; (16.0 PPG & 7.3 RPG) ultimately as Austin Burton pointed out for Dime Magazine a few years ago, LaMarcus is just more talented. As for Blake Griffin and Kevin Love, my other finalist, I have to say at this point, Aldrige is more skilled than the both of them; Kevin has some impressive stats, but his Timberwolves have a record of 113 wins and 281 losses since he joined the team, while Blake has not shown up in key moments for his team. (See Above) I just think LaMarcus Aldrige is more of a go to guy for his team than the former two.
Small Forwards
Lebron James: Two words: The, King. Really no explanation on how this dude is playing on the court; so I’m not going to try to explain it. Just know this that not only is Lebron James is in my top ten of current NBA players, but he is also in my top five of all time NBA players. Remember you are witness.
Kevin Durant: Another no-brainer here, if it wasn’t for that pesky Lebron James dude, Kevin Durant would have the title of NBA’s best player. He has improved his defense since his rookie year; he regularly guards the opposite team’s best player and has adapted to high volume of shots Russell Westbrook takes through the course of a game to maintain his league leading scoring average. (29.5 PPG)